World Cup?

A lot of people are talking about the impact of not having big-mouth Folau for the World Cup, but nobody's mentioning that New Zealand suffered a similar blow with Damian McKenzie going down with an ACL ... I'm really shaken up by this news, I can't believe I didn't hear until just this afternoon...

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It's absolutely a big blow for NZ but it's more about depth in the 10 position.

It seemed to me like NZ's pecking order for FH going into the WC went like this - > Barret -> Play Dmac at 22 where he can cover 10 and 15 - > Richie Mounga an able replacement.

Now as things stand I don't think there's a problem, they have Jordie who can potentially be the "jack of all trades" 10/15/12 cover, but one more injury does throw a spanner, who exactly is NZ's 4th choice 10?
The easy answer is one of the old guard Carter is still playing rugby in Japan and even a 60% Carter is better than most countries can summon, Cruden and Lima Sapoaga have both played for the ABs but they would have to violate their selection policies to bring them back.

Ultimately this isn't really a problem at all Carter/Cruden/Sapoaga lets make it happen, but if we assume those players are out because pedantic reasons it does become interesting:

The best 10 in NZ barring the 6 or so people I've mentioned is probably Marty Banks? Josh Ioane? Jack Deb? As I said this is only a problem on paper until you realize Cruden/Lima/Dan are still playing the game.

What they've lost is that explosiveness off the bench in the final 20, maybe a Will Jordan to step in and be that man?

Great points, my friend, but Lima seems definite to stay in England, and to me, Damian is all FB all the time, confusing him for any jersey below 15 is a huge mistake... as an ABs fan, I fear our ability to replicate that spark...

its a 23 man game, Mckenzies role was likely injury cover for 10/15 and impact sub. He's been invaluable in that role the last 2 years much the same way barrett was when he first came into test rugby. Funny there is a video on youtube of all the tries the AB's scored last year and Mckenzie maybe pops up in that vid more than any other player showing just how important his contribution on attack has been.
And yeah I think the tournament as a whole will miss out without him. He has been arguably the best player in super rugby over the last 3-4 years and arguably the best attacking player in the game over that time too.

A lot of people are talking about the impact of not having big-mouth Folau for the World Cup, but nobody's mentioning that New Zealand suffered a similar blow with Damian McKenzie going down with an ACL ... I'm really shaken up by this news, I can't believe I didn't hear until just this afternoon...

Don't be surprized if more stars are on the injury list prior to the world cup, and doesn't get a chance to go to the world cup. It's just part of the game. There are always stars that gets injured before the WC.

I'm dreading the news that someone like Handre Pollard might get injured and not go.